Machinery of this character has been provided in the past and attention is particularly directed to applicant's assignees U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,333. The present application is directed to certain new and useful improvements which render such machines more economical to produce, and improve it in certain important respects.
Machinery in accordance with the patent mentioned, which I hereby incorporate by reference, has been well accepted by the forest products industry and presently is in wide use in the United States of America to reduce entire trees of various varieties to wood fiber chips which can be readily processed to make a large variety of products. Such machinery is proving extremely valuable to harvest trees in a manner to harvest large tracts of land while leaving sufficient trees in place for future harvesting.
One of the prime objects of the present invention is to provide a new chipper disc of unique configuration which offers a considerable number of advantages over the conventional circular chipper disc in prior usage. For example, a new disc, which has a knife mounting part of generally triangular configuration is considerably lighter in weight than conventional discs, and this enables it to be more easily transported, and reduces clutch problems by lessening the starting load. Furthermore, the new disc of unique design makes a quicker r.p.m. recover and there is a considerable reduction in rim stress. As a result, the new chipper disc will chip faster and more efficiently.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tree chipping machine of the character described wherein the chipper disc assembly includes chip collecting housings which travel with the chipper disc and avoid the tremendous wear problems which have occurred in prior art machines, wherein the chips travel through the chipper disc, once cut, and impinge against the rear stationary wall of the chipper disc housing. The present chip collecting housings are of increasing girth or volume to avoid any wedging of masses of chips in the housing, and the apparatus is capable of operation at slower speeds than formerly without deleterious effect.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide forest products harvesting machinery of the character mentioned wherein mechanism is provided for partially revolving trees with forked trunks being fed to the chipper disc opening to permit the opening to accommodate trees having crotches, which would in unrotated position, not be able to pass through the chipper housing opening.
Still another object of the invention is to significantly improve the machine of the prior art, while at the same time making such machines more economical to manufacture and acquire, without in any way reducing effectiveness or reliability.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the description thereof proceeds.